Gilmore reacts to Ramsey's trash talk

By Mark Daniels and Rich Garven@MarkDanielsPJ and @RichGarvenTG

Wednesday

Oct 10, 2018 at 7:15 PMOct 10, 2018 at 10:17 PM

FOXBORO — Stephon Gilmore has quietly become one of the Patriots best defensive players over the past year. The cornerback, who has a laid-back demeanor, typically lets his play do the talking. On Wednesday, however, Gilmore took a shot at Jacksonville cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

While talking to 98.5 The Sport Hubs Zolak and Bertrand show, Gilmore was asked about Ramsey’s comments on Kansas City receiver Tyreek Hill. Last week, leading up to the Jaguars matchup with the Chiefs, Ramsey referred Hill as a return specialist. (He’s actually the Chiefs leading receiver.)

Said Gilmore: "I feel like a lot of guys that talk, they're mostly zone guys, so they have a lot of energy to do that."

Shots fired.

Ramsey, a 2017 Pro Bowler, isn't a stranger to trash talk. Earlier this season, he told ESPN he thought Rob Gronkowski was over rated. Meanwhile, Gilmore has excelled in man coverage for the Patriots and has been lights out this season. Currently, he’s second in the NFL in passes defensed (eight).

Last week, against Indy, quarterback Andrew Luck was 2/7 for 22 yards when targeting Gilmore, who had three pass breakups. This season, opposing quarterbacks are 12-for-31 (39 percent) and have a 58.5 quarterback rating when targeting the Patriots No. 1 cornerback.

On Wednesday, Bill Belichick said that Gilmore has elevated his play from last season.

“He’ done a good job for us. Way better than last year. Just overall everything,” Bill Belichick said. “I mean, he’s a good player. He was a good player last year. I think his ability for us to utilize him in our system and for him to have maybe a better understanding for us as a group in the secondary — not just him, but the entire group — to function as one. It improved last year over the course of the year, and I think it’s improved this year, too. So, yeah, he’s done a great job for us.”

Perfect attendance

The Patriots are kicking off Week 6 on a healthy note.

For the second straight day, the Pats had perfect practice attendance. This is a good sign for a Patriots defense that saw Malcom Brown (knee) and John Simon (shoulder) depart last week’s game against Indianapolis with injuries.

The Patriots face a big challenge this week with the Kansas City Chiefs, so an extra practice on Tuesday combined with a full team is a big plus for everyone at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots hold two more practices on Thursday and Friday.

The Kansas City Chiefs head into a Sunday night showdown with the Patriots at Gillette Stadium having averaged 35 points and 413 yards during their 5-0 start.

Those numbers rank second and fifth in the league, respectively, for one of the NFL’s two remaining undefeated teams.

Problematic for the Patriots is the fact that prodigious production wasn’t the result of one player. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes orchestrates an offense that includes the fab foursome of running back Kareem Hunt, receivers Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins, and tight end Travis Kelce.

“He gets it to everybody,” cornerback Stephon Gilmore said. “It’s not just one guy. It’s the running back, it’s the receivers, his tight end. So everybody’s got to do their job and be ready to go.”

The Chiefs excel at gobbling up ground on a single play. They’re third in the league with 25 passes of 20-plus yards and tied for fifth with five rushes of 20-plus yards.

The Patriots, for all their defensive deficiencies, have been stout in that area. They’re tied for seventh with 14 receptions of 20-plus yards and tied for sixth with two rushes of 20-plus yards.

“That’s every week, so nothing new,” Gilmore said of the importance of limiting big plays.

The Patriots will practice four times this week, or one more than usual, before emerging from a nine-day layoff Sunday night. The biggest benefit to putting in an extra day of work will come via studying.

“Watching a little bit more film than what we usually do,” Gilmore said. “But, like I said, we still have to go out there and execute on Sunday.”

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